In 1935 a new publishing company called Penguin Books was founded. It was run by Allen Lane (later Sir Allen Lane), who had decided that cheap paperback versions of good books were the way to go. He started with ten novels, all with a small penguin logo and distinctive covers. Each book was priced at 6d (the cost then of a pack of cigarettes), and the books launched the paperback revolution and forever changed the way we read. Penguin took high-quality fiction and non-fiction to the mass market and proved that there was a need for serious, inexpensive books for everyone, not just the privately educated. Ten months after the launch of the company, one million Penguin books had been printed and they were selling like hot cakes, making the founder a millionaire.
The first ten titles were:
Ariel: A Shelley Romance by André Maurois
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Poet’s Pub by Eric Linklater
Madame Claire by Susan Ertz
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
Twenty-Five by Beverley Nichols
William by E.H. Young
Gone to Earth by Mary Webb
Carnival by Compton Mackenzie
Fiction was in orange, biography in dark blue, and crime in green. How many of those have you read? Today, those initial titles are highly prized by collectors.
I recently very much enjoyed reading a 2005 book, published by Penguin of course, called The Man Who Changed the Way We Read: The Story of Allen Lane and Penguin Books by Jeremy Lewis, which tells the story of the opposition Lane faced with his cheap paperback idea, the early struggles of the firm, the ‘Pelicans’, ‘Puffins’ and other off-shoots, and how the firm coped in war-time when paper shortages were dire, warehouses stocking books were bombed, and there was an insatiable demand for books from soldiers and people sheltering in the Underground.
Allen Lane was an unusual man, and the people he gathered around him were secretaries, marketing men and authors, quite an eclectic group of people. Life at Penguin was not always easy – if an employee was invited for ‘lunch at the Berkeley’, he knew he was about to be sacked – but the firm managed to keep producing wonderful titles, bringing educated reading to people who had never been able to afford books before.
One especially fascinating chapter was on the publication of D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover. The novel had been published privately in 1928. British laws regarding obscenity were very rigid, and it wasn’t until 1959 that a new law was introduced, which allowed for the publication of ‘questionable’ books if they were “in the interest of science, literature, art or learning”. This made Lady Chatterley a test case – was it smut, or was it literature? After famous authors and even a Bishop spoke out in the book’s favour, the trial ended with a decision to allow Penguin to publish and distribute the novel. Three million copies of the novel were then sold, with queues of thousands outside bookshops. The trial brought in the ‘swinging sixties’ and far greater freedom when it came to what was printed, so Penguin played a vital role in the sexual revolution.
I do love a book that fits easily in a pocket or handbag, and this is what Penguin also achieved. Some of today’s paperbacks are massive in size. Sir Allen Lane was a man of so many good ideas, and I was intrigued to read more about his life and achievements.
Do you have a favourite penguin book? Tell me in a comment.
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Barbara McKay
My husband and I scoured bookshops en route
On a touring holiday of Victoria. Tasmania and NSW. We were only interested in green penguins ( crime) for a lawyer daughter. She has a very good collection. However I am not sure if they have been read. Fun having a quest on the long drive
Susannah Fullerton
Yes, it’s always good to have a quest when you visit book shops.
Yvonne
I don’t really have a favourite penguin book but I do remember that the covers were in the three different colours.
My parents had a huge collection of the books and friends and family were always borrowing them and discussing them. Not a real Bookclub but just as they happened to visit. This was in the late 50 ties and sixties..
This story took me back a bit,
Yvonne
Susannah Fullerton
I am glad it brought back good memories. Yes, the different colours for the different genres were a great idea.
Susannah Fullerton
I’m glad it brought back good memories. Some of those books are now very collectible, but it sounds like your parents were generous in sharing them around and enjoying book discussions.
Julie Sweeten
The State Library NSW has an extensive Special Collection of Penguin editions
Susannah Fullerton
Oh, I didn’t know that. Thanks for letting me know.